Waking Life: A Music Mix For July 2016

For whatever reason (zeitgeist? shrewd marketing? my own internal calibrations with the Earth’s seasonal tilt?), there’s a definite summertime vibe emanating from this month's mix, which seems to work well however you listen. Personally, I recommend “shuffle.”

Not unlike summer, there are a number of artists here making welcome returns: The Avalanches, The Stone Roses, Kathleen Hanna, De La Soul, Al Green, Beth Orton, Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval, The Strokes — artists many of us have known and loved for a while now. It’s great to hear them back with fresh work.

On the other hand, few things exhilarate like the thrill of discovering new artists we love. Whitney, Lucy Daucus, Daniel Wilson, The Beths and Big Thief do nothing to upset that here.

Also worth noting: tUnE-yArDs’ Merrill Garbus produced the new Sonny & the Sunsets record found here. Preoccupations is the new incarnation-in-name-only of the band formerly known as Viet Cong. Miles Mosley’s current regular gig is as bassist in Kamasi Washington’s band, and he played on Kendrick Lamar’s "To Pimp a Butterfly."

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